FL Webinar on Clinical Trials

Some webinar news for you all -- the Follicular Lymphoma Foundation is sponsoring a webinar on clinical trials on Tuesday, July 23, at 8:00am Eastern Time (U.S. and Canada) -- that 13:00 BST, 14:00 CEST, or 20:00 AWST​.

The webinar is called "Understanding Follicular Lymphoma Clinical Trials."

I know a bunch of you are part of the FL Facebook group, and you're probably ware of this webinar already (since the administrators of that group are very involved with the FLF). But I encourage you to take a second look at it if you're not already registered.

One of the really nice things about the FLF is how international they are. Sometimes when I write about a webinar, I get the feeling that some folks are excluded (or feel that way) if they aren't from the U.S. But since the FLF involves people from all over the world, they make a point to do their best to make the webinars accessible to as many people as possible. I appreciate that about them.

As the webinar description says, this is an opportunity to learn more about clinical trials, and especially about trials for FL. You'll hear from some medical experts, and also from other FL patients who will talk about their experiences.

I think that's a really important combination. I know many people have questions about clinical trials -- about trials in general, and specific trials for FL -- and there will be a chance to gt them answered.

But I also know that even those answers from experts don't always calm some patients' fears. So hearing from other FL patients is so important. There's so much misinformation about trials out there. I have had several loved ones who have had cancer, and who were told about clinical trials, and they resisted -- they were afraid that they would "get the sugar pill," meaning a placebo. But that's just not how cancer trials work -- you'll always get treatment that will potentially help you. Sometimes cancer patients don't fully understand that.

And unfortunately, many times the people who should be giving patients information are the ones who cause confusion. In the past, I have worked with some pharmaceutical companies and other health organizations, providing feedback on their websites and other patient-oriented materials. It's amazing to me how bad and confusing some of those materials are when I see them. I hope my suggestions have helped clear up the confusion. But I know they don't always take my advice.

The point is, at this webinar, you'll hear directly from folks who can tel you how trials work from a medical/scientific perspective, and from patients who have been through the experience. You'll get some good information. (You can read more about the different speakers here.)

And this is a good time to remind you all that research cannot move forward without clinical trials, and patients to participate in them. We all love to read about new treatments. They give us hope. But trials are the only way we all get access to exciting new treatments.

You can register for the webinar here. I hope you'll give it a look.